NEW MCDONALD’S CEO BETTING ON CHICKEN IN SHAKY ECONOMY

McDonald’s new chief executive officer is playing chicken with the menu.

As Don Thompson, 49, steps into the CEO role at the world’s largest restaurant chain, customers may see more new chicken items instead of beef. Thompson is pulling from McDonald’s 160-item recipe book, which includes bone-in chicken wings and cashew teriyaki salads with chicken, to sell new food and attract cash-conscious consumers amid a shaky global economy. It’s a “tremendous opportunity,” Thompson said last month.

McDonald’s is looking to draw budget-minded Americans with chicken items, which can be priced lower than other proteins, according to Bryan Elliott, an analyst at Raymond James & Associates. “The consumer is expressing some recent signs of distress” and chicken costs are “cheap relative to beef right now by a lot,” he said.

McDonald’s, along with other fast-food operators, is facing government austerity programs in Europe, declining consumer confidence in the U.S. and slowing economic growth in Asia. Sales at McDonald’s stores open at least 13 months rose 3.3 percent worldwide in May, trailing analysts’ estimates for growth of 5.2 percent.

Chicken also is “perceived to be healthier,” Elliott said. “That could certainly be a factor in their thinking.”

A Big Mac has 550 calories, while a six-piece order of Chicken McNuggets has 280 calories. Last week, the company began selling 410-calorie Spicy Chicken McBites in the U.S.

Americans are expected to eat more poultry. Chicken consumption in the U.S. will increase 1.7 percent to 82 pounds a person in 2013, while beef consumption may decline 2.2 percent next year to 54.5 pounds, according to data from the Department of Agriculture.